


Devotion

by Skylark



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Character Study, F/F, First Dates, Love Confessions, Mountains, Nature, Sharing a Meal, Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-08-24 05:10:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8358571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylark/pseuds/Skylark
Summary: She finds Rin at the foot of the mountain, holding a mug of hot chocolate.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [magicasen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicasen/gifts).



> [Title credit](http://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=qWWSM3wCiKY). Thank you to my betas [Ethereally](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ethereally) and [Keptein](https://archiveofourown.org/users/keptein).

She finds Rin at the foot of the mountain, holding a mug of hot chocolate.

Her hands are curled around the paper cup, cushioned in mittens shaped like catspaws. The steam wafts gently upward, blending with the heavy mist that rings around the mountain. She sees Umi coming up the path and her sudden grin is like a burst of sunlight.

“Umi!” she cries out, stretching one hand up above her head to wave. It’s a pointless gesture; Umi saw her ages before, and is walking in a straight line toward her. Clearly Rin already has all of her attention. But Umi finds herself smiling anyway, raising a hand to wave back.

A backpack waits at Rin’s feet, bulging with supplies. Umi has a matching backpack heavy on her shoulders, with a blanket tucked against her lower back. "Good morning," Umi says.

"Good morning!" Rin says, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I was so excited that I could barely sleep last night. How about you?"

Umi thinks about the night before, which she spent tossing and turning only to pause, smiling, at the ceiling. "I was excited too," she says.

Rin nods. "But I didn't forget anything! I checked twice. The checklist you texted me last night was suuuuper useful. Thank you so much!"

Umi can feel herself blushing a little. "I'm glad," she says. "Shall we be off?"

"Let's go, let's go!" Rin says. "Oh, Umi-chan, hold this." She pushes the hot chocolate into Umi’s hands before pulling her backpack on with a fluid sweep of strength. It's almost bigger than she is, but Rin doesn’t seem affected. Rin is already bounding up the wooded trail before Umi can hand the travel mug back.

For a moment Umi just admires her retreating back, at the thoughtless athleticism implied in the lightness of her movements. She glances down at the cup in her hands. She hesitates and then, with a heavy blush, lifts it to her lips.

\--

The sun rises and the day slowly heats up, but the air stays cool around them as they ascend the mountain, shaded by the tree canopy above them. Umi trails after Rin, who sings odd snatches of songs as they hike. Some are by mu’s, and some are from other idol groups that Hanayo loves. That Umi recognizes them too is a sign of how close all of them have become, she thinks.

Whenever Rin gets to Umi’s parts in their own songs, she always pauses. It takes Umi two repetitions before she realizes what is expected of her. She opens her mouth to sing, but Rin stops instead, turning towards her with a worried pout.

“Umi-chan, what’s wrong with you? Do you feel sick?” Rin says. She puts the back of her hand on Umi’s forehead, the side of her neck. “You’re not singing and I thought you’d leave me behind by now, but you’re going at my pace. You’re always so crazy when we get to mountains.”

Umi blinks, mouth oddly dry until Rin takes her hand away. “M- my archery club in middle school used to go mountain hiking,” she stammers, still thinking about how cool Rin’s hand felt on her skin. “It was for training, so we pushed ourselves as hard as we could. I thought that our trip as mu’s was for similar reasons, so I expected us to perform at a similar intensity. I’m sorry.”

Rin looks at her. “So you’re okay going at this pace? You’re not bored?”

“I could never be bored with you, Rin,” she says quietly.

Rin smiles, but it’s shy and small compared to her normal wide grin. After a beat, she extends her hand and Umi takes it without thought.

Rin begins to sing again and this time, Umi’s voice lifts in the expectant silence. It’s clear and strong, mingling with the snatches of late-morning birdsong. They continue the rest of the way like that, an easy musical back-and-forth. Umi starts joining in for the choruses too, dipping for the harmony when Rin’s lilting voice runs over the quick melodic line.

Umi is used to the attention of concentrated sunshine after a lifetime of being friends with Honoka, but Rin is different. Rin is grounded until she isn't, playful until she stops. It keeps her guessing, but in a way that’s exciting rather than worrying. 

It’s good practice, Umi thinks, to engage in strenuous physical activity while singing. It will build their endurance and help them perform better when they’re on stage, when it matters. But the smile that breaks across her face has nothing to do with performative practice. She keeps holding on to Rin, even though they’re single file; their linked hands stretch between them. It makes it harder for Umi to keep her balance, but Rin doesn’t say anything, and neither does Umi. They continue that way for a long time.

\--

The trees are thinning, starting to be replaced by stretches of rocks that Rin leaps across, billy-goat-like. Umi works at a more stately pace, finding handholds and footholds, delighting in the rush of her blood and the burn in her muscles. A calm focus settles over her mind as she devotes herself to the simple act of scaling the mountain, mastering it.

Still, she has an eye towards Rin, always. “How are you doing?” she calls out. 

Rin spins on one foot, nearly a pirouette; she’s been hanging out too much with Nozomi, Umi thinks. She favors sudden bursts of energy with short periods of rest, compared to Umi’s steady effort. As a result, she’s a little bit ahead of her now, and turns around to watch Umi approach. 

“Come on, Umi-chan!” Rin says, hands cupped around her mouth. “Fight!”

Umi’s eyes gleam at that, and she scrambles up the rocky path in a flash. It’s worth it to see the shocked look on Rin’s face at how fast she reaches her. 

“Umi-chan!” Rin says. “So cool! You really are holding yourself back.”

“Should I not?” Umi says, breath still fast from the sudden spike of exertion, an uncharacteristic wicked gleam appearing in her eye.

Rin’s eyes widen. “No no no no! This pace is fine,” she says. “Don’t make us do mountain training, Umi-chan. I’m having fun like this.”

They stop for lunch at a small clearing. Umi brushes stray leaves and trees from a flat rock and spreads her blanket over it while Rin digs a bento out of her bag, the box adorned with small plastic cat ears. Umi trades her for a bento box of her own, patterned with sakura.

“Hanayo helped me make your bento!” Rin says as Umi opens it. Her cheeks have turned faintly pink. “Is it good? Do you like it?”

 _No wonder there are so many rice balls,_ Umi thinks. She lifts an octopus hot dog to her mouth and takes a bite.

“Ah, you’re smiling!” Rin says, craning forward to peer at her face.

Umi nods, her mouth full.

“So do you like it? Is it good? Is it really good?”

“It’s good,” Umi agrees after she’s done swallowing. Rin is still watching her, like she wants her to say more, but effusive praise is something she’s clumsy at. “Um...would you like to try?” she tries instead, offering her bento toward Rin. Instead of taking an octopus with her own chopsticks, like Umi expects, Rin opens her mouth expectantly.

She thinks they both blush at the same time. Umi blinks rapidly, then looks down, carefully lifting a hot dog with her chopsticks. She meets Rin’s gaze as she gently places the food on her tongue.

Umi watches her as she chews and swallows. “Oh! It is good!” Rin says, covering her mouth with one hand. “I did a good job.”

“You did do a good job, Rin,” Umi says, and she makes a chirping, happy noise, headbutting Umi gently in the shoulder before opening her own bento.

She eats Umi’s offered lunch with relish, exclaiming over every little thing. They gossip about the other mu’s girls and their plans for the week, empty bentos beside them, enjoying the early afternoon.

\--

When they get to the top of the mountain, Rin gasps at the sight of the valley spread below them. The mist of the morning has cleared away and they can see everything clearly. The trees sway in the breeze like an ocean of green. Here and there are blips of humanity, cell phone towers and highways, clearings for small towns and schools. In the distance, the land dissolves into the ocean, and the small stretch of blue at the edge of their vision gives the impression of endlessness. 

“Umi-chan! This is so beautiful! Have you been here before?”

“I have,” she says. “I came here once years ago with my family. I thought it was the most beautiful place in the world. At that time, I thought…” she reaches out to take Rin’s hand again. Something like stage fright rises in her throat but sharper, more anxious; more is at stake. “I thought...if I ever fell in love, I would want the one I cherish to see this with me.”

Rin gasps. “Umi-chan! Do you love me?” She throws herself into Umi’s arms before she can react, her arms wrapped around Umi’s neck, eyes bright with joy. “I love you too! Can I kiss you?”

“Rin!” she squeaks. “We’re in public—”

“There’s no one here,” Rin insists, “and you just said you love me! Shouldn’t you get a kiss for that?”

Umi looks around them. Rin’s right that they’re the only ones there, and the way the earth stretches below them on the mountaintop—the promise of a future when they climb back down to sea level—makes Umi blush. “I-I guess you can kiss me,” she stammers, “but—”

Before she can finish, Rin has already pecked her on the cheek. “How was that?” Rin says.

Umi’s face is burning hot. “Rin,” she complains, “you’re embarrassing me—”

Rin kisses her on her other cheek, then goes back to the first one, peppering her flushed cheeks with kisses. Umi squeezes her eyes shut and scrunches her nose, so happy she can’t stand it, fretful despite it. “I love you, Umi-chan,” Rin whispers between kisses. “I love you! Thank you for bringing you here. I’m going to make you so happy. I’ll make you a bento every day.”

“Rin, stop!” she says, pushing Rin away. For a moment she’s shocked at the hurt in Rin’s eyes before she continues, “If you’re doing that, I can’t kiss you back.”

Rin stares at her in surprise before her face turns as red as Umi’s. “Oh,” she says.

“Can I k-kiss you?” Umi asks.

“I just kissed you a million times!!” Rin yelps. “Don’t be so formal about this!”

“It’s important!” Umi snaps back, overwhelmed by the feeling of Rin’s slight frame in her arms and pressed all against her front. Her cheeks still feel hyper-sensitive from Rin’s little kisses. “It’s special!”

Rin makes a distressed noise. “Umi-chan, kiss me already!”

“O-okay!” she says, and then their lips are pressed together and neither of them can talk anymore.

It’s not as suave or dramatic as the romance movies that Umi can’t sit through, which is probably the only reason she survives her first kiss. It’s a little weird, honestly, their lips pressed together with both of them too frightened to move. Eventually Umi pulls back to readjust the angle and Rin gasps a little, this soft quiet noise that no one else could hear unless they were this close to her. The intimacy of it shocks Umi, and makes her want more—she craves more, with the kind of hunger she thought was reserved for conquering mountains, for making top grades, for making mu’s the best school idol group in the world.

“I love you, Rin,” Umi stammers as she pulls away. “Please go out with me.”

“I thought we were already dating!” Rin says. “Isn’t this a date?”

Umi’s eyes cast to the side. “Well, yes, but…I didn’t know if you wanted it to be one.”

“I do!” Rin says, squirming in Umi’s arms like she wants to touch all of her at once. Umi feels more than a little overwhelmed. “I want this to be our first date. It’s perfect, Umi-chan, just like you.”

Mountains have always given Umi courage: the size of them, the lofty challenge, and the knowledge that humans have conquered them again and again. _Thank you,_ she thinks to the mountain god that must reside at the top of the mountain. _Thank you for bringing me this happiness._


End file.
